Reviews

“Those with a fascination for vintage-style symphonic progressive rock of a more accessible nature should take note of Roolaart’s CD “The Plight of Lady Oona”. Layered, vintage keyboard arrangements in accessible compositions with orientations towards ballads and folk music are what you get here, with sparse use of dramatic effects and fairly smooth and elegant developments in general. If that sounds like appealing music to you, this is a CD worth taking a closer look at. 4.0/5.0” Read More

by Chel-VictoriaThis album brings a whole new dimension to the world of creativity, imagination and harmonies…I catch myself daydreaming as soon as I play The Plight of Lady Oona. And yet, nothing superficial about it, the world of music and incredible sounds suddenly seem as important as the real world. What is the inside and what is the outside? Thank you for those beautiful and deep songs.

“Anton Roolaart is an artist that is completely different from any other writer or player I know. The fact that he has invented this sound from influential mentors, dreams, imaginative recollections or intuitions are the reasons we all hail the fight and glory of original music in the first place, and The Plight Of Lady Oona does all of this and more.”Read More

“Seven years ago I rated Dreamer with 4 solid stars, but now he has matured and offers us a solid release that deserves no less than 5 solid stars..Hope we don’t have to wait another seven years for the third record.”Read More

‘The Plight of Lady Oona’ is an album that gives up its delights bit by bit, there is no instant gratification on offer here, if you are prepared to invest time in the music it will deliver a cornucopia of musical delights. Anton Roolaart is a name to look out for, my first introduction to his music has been an intensive and incredibly impressive one and, it won’t be my last.”

Zachary Nathanson
Music from the Other Side of the Room
April 18, 2014
“This is my 10th time listening to The Plight of Lady Oona, and it shows that Anton Roolaart is back to give the Prog genre a real jolt. With the lyrics on defining gravity, searching for a new beginning, and how life can be a mystery, it is a stunning yet striking welcoming return for Roolaart to see what he would come up with next.”Read More

“…The result is a very well crafted album, with lots of maturity, given the experience of all the musicians who made contributions to it. The interesting fact though about “Dreamer” is that throughout the entire album there is this undeniable feeling that this is a personal affair. The level of emotion that is poured into each song, the evocation of past events, the lyricism of texts and the suave atmosphere that is created within will all convince you that Roolaart is a fabulous story-teller, much in the vein of Guy Manning or Steve Cochrane…” (Read More)

“Simply put, Dreamer has made it’s way past my “review” pile and comfortably sits on a cycle of frequently listened to discs. I lost the CD once as it made a seemingly harmless trip from my studio to my car. It was only absent for a day, but it was a day of panic. I cant be without this album, I’d buy it again and again if I ever did lose it. Very, VERY few CDs hold the same honor.”(Read More)

“…Dreamer succeeds on so many levels, primarily by not only acknowledging the progressive greats of the past, yet by also remaining firmly entrenched in the sounds of today and more importantly with an eye towards the future as well. If you are a fan of progressive music in any shape or form, then I highly recommend you check out this very impressive debut.”(Read More)

“Refreshing and curious, Anton Roolaart’s newrecord on the Umbrello label and entitled Dreamer is an adventure in Audiophonic odyssey. Like following Alice down the rabbit hole, Dreamer is a magical mystery that only reveals itself as the listener follows its true path.”… This is definitely one of the year’s best albums…(Read More)

“It’s always a pleasure to review the debut of a Symphonic artist, but is a double pleasure when it’s a very solid album like “Dreamer”, because it makes us have hope that our beloved genre will keep evolving in time and it’s not doomed to oblivion as many other genres before Prog…” (Read More)

Connoisseurs of progressive rock have a debut disc from an amazing player to look forward to in April. Netherland’s born Anton Roolaart’s debut disc, Dreamer, should be occupying space on your iPod or in your CD tray for many months to come. The disc is a delight for fans of emotive and original electric guitar voicing. From gentle, complimentary
notes on his vocals to explosive yet exacting bursts of steel-wound string magic, Anton demonstrates his mastery of the frets. The album’s complex guitar textures and arrangements display this New Jersey musician’s deft capabilities with the genre he has a passion
for…”